Greetings, I'll keep it brief and say to all of our fans, hope you're enjoying our story so we can get to the good stuff, enjoy. Also this marks the end of the Initial Order Arc, so look forward to something new next chapter.
Chapter 20
Initial Order Arc:
War of Nature Part II
Forest
Atsuko - 8000
Anakin - 8000
"I'll start my turn by activating the spell Pot of Duality . This lets me look at the first three cards of my deck, pick one, and send the rest back to my deck," Atsuko remarked.
A jar that looked like an unholy fusion of the original Pot of Greed and Pot of Serenity appeared on the field and spun around a few times before releasing a puff of sparkling dust onto her duel disk.
She then drew her three cards; Fiendish Chain, Quill Pen of Gulldos, and Kamui, Hope of Gusto (2/100/1000).
Her choice was the monster card before putting the other two back into her deck, causing it to shuffle.
"I'll end my turn by placing a defense monster on the field and setting this one facedown."
Both cards materialized on the field as she gave a confidence glare at her opponent.
Anakin drew to signify he had started his turn.
"I'll set one monster face down in defense mode," Anakin said as the card materialized. "Now, Hyena, attack her face down monster with Scavenger Pounce!"
The beast took two bounds before leaping the rest of the way across the field to land on top of her set monster, revealing it as Kamui; a young man in simple clothes with a green ponytail and a scarf a shade or two lighter.
He struck away the beast, causing it to go back to its side due to its defense having the same points as Hyena's attack. "Since you attacked him, I activate his special ability-"
"Unfortunately, I won't let that happen, thanks in part to my face down card, Solemn Strike! By paying 1500 Life Points, I am allowed to negate your monster's effect and destroy it!" In mere seconds, a bolt of lightning came down and hit her monster, vaporizing it.
Atsuko - 8000
Anakin - (8000 - 6500)
"I'll end my turn on that," he remarked.
"Huh. I didn't expect her to use a Gusto deck." Nick smiled.
"Why's that?" Takashi questioned.
"The archetype is associated with the wind, freedom and being more assertive," Barclay replied. "Atsuko's rather timid, usually."
"For my turn, I'll just set another defense monster on the field."
"Then I go once again." Anakin smirked while drawing with swift movement. "Though it won't do much right now, I'll activate the continuous spell Solidarity! "
The card appeared, depicting five Ojamas in different colors materialized in a circle with bones and grave markers surrounding them.
"Next, my Hyena is gonna make dinner out of your facedown monster!"
Again, the beast bounded across the field before pouncing on Atsuko's face down monster, revealing it to be Gusto Gulldo (3/500/500). A small cyan-feathered bird with studded green leather bands appeared just long enough for Hyena to take a massive bite out of and destroy it.
"You just activated its special effect," Atsuko declared. "Whenever Gulldo is destroyed and sent to the graveyard in battle, I can special summon a Level 2 or lower Gusto from my deck."
A single feather floated down from the sky onto Atsuko's deck and caused it to eject, allowing her to grab it and search. "Winda, Priestess of Gusto (2/1000/400), I need you now."
Wind blew in and surrounded an area on her side of the field as a figure emerged from it.
A young woman in a beige overcoat and flowing white blouse appeared on the field. She, like every other Gusto card, had green hair and she was wielding a staff in a defensive manner.
"Tch, I'll end my turn then," Anakin spat.
The trio behind Atsuko could tell that Anakin was starting to lose his temper due to not being able to get through her defense.
"I draw and summon my Pilica, Descendant of Gusto (3/1000/1500) in attack mode," she remarked.
Another spiral of wind appeared next to Winda as a new figure appeared.
A young girl with green hair and red tips pulled up in a ponytail appeared on the field. She wore a fur-lined beige cape over the light green clothing that all Gustos wore. She also held a staff topped with a blue orb and a carving of one of the Gusto birds.
"She may be small, but her ability more than makes up for it: Whenever she's Normal or Special Summoned, I can bring out a Wind tuner monster from my graveyard back to the field."
As Atsuko said that, the small girl began to chant an incantation as a glowing spiral of wind emerged next to her.
"So, I'll be summoning back my Gusto Gulldo in defense mode!"
The bird monster came back to the field, only this time its wings were in front of it in a defensive stance.
"Is that all you're going to do?" Anakin demanded. "Keep hiding behind birds and children?"
"I'm done hiding now, because I'm about to go on the offensive with Gulldo and Pilica," Atsuko began.
Both her monsters went into the air as her bird soon exploded and released three light rings that surrounded the young girl, which in turn created a blinding flash.
"I tune them together in order to Synchro Summon Daigusto Sphreez (6/2000/1300)!"
The light died down to reveal a young woman in a white and green "battle suit," for lack of a better term, with long green hair that turned red at the ends and a stone spear in her hands.
Nick's jaw dropped slightly. "Wow, that's a strong one."
"Kinda fits her somehow, I think," said Takashi.
"Considering its effect, yeah, I'd say it's fitting," Barclay commented.
"My new monster comes with a few tricks up her sleeve, one being her special ability: Whenever she's Synchro Summoned to the field, I can add any Gusto monster from my graveyard to my hand."
Soon enough, Sphreez turned to her owner and slammed her spear into the ground, causing it to glow as an orb released from it and entered her duel disk.
"I'll be adding Pillica back to my hand," Atsuko declared as her graveyard ejected the monster, allowing her to grab it.
"Sphreez, attack his hyena with Tornado Tackle! "
The monster flapped its wings and flew upward before spinning into a nosedive, causing a small vortex to surround its body. "Well, as long as there's a tornado warning, I might as well activate Storming Mirror Force," said Anakin. "The skies aren't looking too friendly this evening, are they?"
The trap card revealed itself as a powerful vortex pushed Sphreez's away, making her disappear from the field.
"All your monsters in attack mode go back to your hand, or your extra deck if any of them are Synchros."
Atsuko grabbed her monster before placing it in her extra deck once more.
"I'll end my turn by activating the spell Transmodify , which allows me to Special Summon a monster by using one I have on the field. So, in exchange for my level 2 Winda, I can now summon my second level three Pilica in defense mode," Atsuko remarked.
Wind surrounded her monster as a bright light glowed from it, resulting in Pilica reappearing on the field.
"My turn," Anakin said with a frown, drawing. "I'll Flip Summon Super-Nimble Mega Hamster (4/1100/1800) in attack mode, which allows me to special summon a level 3 or lower Beast-type monster from my deck."
A very large, dark gray hamster with a lightning bolt on its white belly appeared on the field. It immediately began bouncing around Anakin's side of the field and headbutted his duel disk, knocking a card out of the deck slot. However, before Anakin could special summon the new monster…
"To quote you, 'unfortunately I won't let that happen, thanks in part to my face down card', Breakthrough Skill . This allows me to negate any monster's effect, and that hamster of yours has a dangerous one, so I'll choose him," said Atsuko.
The card revealed itself as it glowed, causing the hamster to stop mid-bounce and look around in a mild daze.
"Then I end my turn, since my monsters lack the attack power to remove your defenses," Anakin said while tightening his fist.
The boys were each wondering about Atsuko's plan and how she might gain the upper hand. At the moment, things could go either way.
"My turn once again," the blue-haired girl replied. "Now from my hand, I summon Krebons (2/1200/400) in attack mode."
A weird, jester-like being appeared on the field. Its outfit was primarily white and blue with gold trim and circuit-like designs across it. Adding to its jester-esque appearance, it appeared to be juggling shapes reminiscent of an old block-stacking game.
"Am I supposed to be impressed by some ridiculous clown?" Anakin said, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't count him out yet, because now I'm gonna tune together Krebons with my Pillica in order to Synchro Summon Daigusto Gulldos (5/2200/800)!"
A loud boom echoed through the forest as a large armored green bird descended from the canopy. Every flap of its wings stirred up another breeze, but its green-haired rider never lost her grip on the reins.
"Oh, wow, that's how her Gulldos looks when it's a Synchro Monster? Crazy," Nick said.
"It's almost like every one of them has all of her monsters together in some way," Takashi added.
"Isn't that how the Gusto archetype was designed in the first place?" Barclay pointed out.
"Don't think I'm done just yet, 'cuz now I'm activating its special ability: By returning two Gusto monsters from my graveyard to my deck, I can destroy any card on the field, and I'm choosing your Hyena!"
The rider pulled the reins as the beast started to glow bright green. Winda and Kamui were ejected from Atsuko's graveyard and she put them back into her deck.
The bird then cawed loudly, collecting that same green light in its open beak before firing it like a laser. Hyena didn't stand a chance.
"Destroying that monster just activated both spells on my field!" Anakin said. "First, Solidarity: because I have only one type of monster in my graveyard, monsters with the same type gain 800 attack points!"
Behind Anakin, a glaring, glowing beast eye opened in the tangle of woods that surrounded the field.
"Second, my field spell: For every Beast monster in my graveyard, the Beasts I have on the field gain an additional 100 attack points! Giving my Super-Nimble Mega Hamster 900 attack points!"
The glow from both cards caused the hamster to double in size, gaining a more primal appearance as it roared.
Super-Nimble Mega Hamster: 1100 - 2000
"It is stronger, but it still won't be able to survive my Gulldos! Go, attack it with Crushing Talon!"
The beast raised its leg as it slammed down onto the hamster, destroying it in the process.
Atsuko - 8000
Anakin - (6500 - 6300)
With it destroyed, a second eye opened on one of the trees.
"I'll finish my turn with that," Atsuko said. "I'm not gonna lose just yet!" Anakin growled as he drew. "First, I'll activate the spell Obedience Schooled! This spell allows me to special summon three Level 2 or lower monsters if I don't have any others on the field."
A faintly glowing dog whistle appeared in Anakin's hand. When he blew it, his deck glowed with the same light, allowing him to search it for the monsters he wanted.
"Say hello to Kalantosa, Mystical Beast of the Forest (2/200/1400), Uniflora, Mystical Beast of the Forest (1/700/500), and Valerifawn, Mystical Beast of the Forest (2/400/900)."
Three new monsters emerged from the forest depths. The first one was a small, white rabbit-like creature with soft, green succulent plants sprouting on its back and a red gem in its forehead with gold filigree across its head like a crown. The second was a white horse with green vine-like designs spiraling across its form, with a majority of its body covered in a blanket of green moss and similar plants and a golden horn sprouting from its forehead. The final one was a young deer-like creature with white flowers growing from the back of its head and back and horn like patterns on its forehead.
Though each of them looked tired, almost like they were drained of energy.
"Wow, three monsters in one move? That's pretty impressive," Nick said. "It doesn't mean that he'll win with them, Atsuko still has a chance," Takashi added.
"Doesn't that spell prevent their effects from activating?" Barclay asked. "I'm guessing he's about to do something bad…" "Now with them on the field, I'll be taking a page from your playlist! Because now I'm tuning them together in order to Synchro Summon Thunder Unicorn (5/2200/1800)!"
The three monsters were consumed in pillars of light, which then fused together into a single pillar. A deep blue unicorn with yellow stripes and a jagged horn stepped out of the light, golden mane crackling with electricity.
"And with three more Beasts in the graveyard, my monster gains a total of 1300 extra attack points for a total of 3500!" Anakin continued.
Three more eyes appeared on the trees and like with his hamster, the horse transformed into a primal form of itself.
"Now, before I attack, I'll activate Thunder Unicorn's effect, allowing me to drop one of your monsters' attack points by 500! And with only one option…"
The equine beast pawed at the ground angrily and threw its head, sending a spark flying across the field to strike Atsuko's Daigusto Gulldos. Electricity coursed through the creature, making it seize up as he squawked in pain.
Daigusto Gulldos - (2200 ATK - 1700 ATK)
Atsuko crossed her arms in front of her to prepare for the inevitable impact.
"Now! Destroy that bird with your Piercing Thunder Charge!" Anakin shouted.
Thunder Unicorn neighed loudly and began galloping across the field. Soon the lightning in its mane covered its entire body, and everyone's hair stood on end a little. Then the unicorn leaped, piercing both the bird and its rider with a supercharged horn.
Daigusto disappeared in a powerful clap of thunder, which sent a second shockwave at everyone else.
Atsuko - (8000 - 6200)
Anakin - 6300
"And with that, my turn ends," Anakin said.
Atsuko drew her next card when the force of the shock wave died down.
"I summon back to the field Pilica, which triggers her effect and lets me bring Gulldo back to the field." Like before, the little girl chanted as the familiar bird came back in defense mode.
"And just like before, I'll tune them together to bring back Daigusto Sphreez. Of course, doing that triggers her effect, so I'll just take Pilica from my graveyard once this is over."
The girl and the bird once again turned into balls of light that became Sphreez. And just like before, Sphreez hit the ground with her spear and caused Pilica's card to pop out of the graveyard slot.
"What kind of strategy is this?! You're just recycling the same cards over and over!" Anakin said, narrowing his eyes at her. "That's how my deck works, Anakin! None of my cards are worthless! Show him, Sphreez, attack him with Tornado Tackle!"
The monster nodded and flew up, spinning around as it soon transformed into a miniature tornado and aimed right at the large horse.
" Qué ?!" Nick gasped.
"Atsuko…" Takashi muttered while chewing his bottom lip.
"She's got something up her sleeve," Barclay said, though he looked unsure.
Both monsters collided, but the lighting sparking from Unicorn broke the tornado and flung Sphreez back to her side of the field.
However, some sparks of electricity got sent towards Anakin, shocking him and making him drop to his knees.
Atsuko - 6200
Anakin - (6300 - 4800)
"How?" Anakin demanded. "How is it that I took damage when your monster's clearly weaker? It should've been destroyed!"
"My Sphreez has more power than you thought: Whenever a Gusto monster attacks while she's on the field, any damage I would've taken is directed to you instead. Also, she can't be destroyed by battle."
"So that's why she was so calm when she declared an attack," the red-haired teen realized.
"See? She did have something up her sleeve." Barclay sighed.
"I end my turn, your move."
"Grrrr…" Anakin drew aggressively. "I'll activate the spell Scapegoat, change Thunder Unicorn to defense mode, and end my turn."
Four miniature goat-like creatures trotted out of the forest, bleating.
"I draw and summon Gusto Egul (1/200/400) in attack mode."
Another armored green bird appeared on the field. It had a head of white feathers and piercing red eyes.
"Go wake him up, Egul!"
The bird flew upward and then went straight into a nosedive aimed at Thunder Unicorn, only for the unicorn to knock it out of the way with its horn.
The force from the attack though sent a shock-wave towards Anakin as it knocked him to his knees again.
Atsuko - 6200
Anakin - (4800 - 3200)
"You see now, Anakin? Needless violence just causes more pain, it doesn't solve anything at all," she explained while crossing her arms.
"Shut up!" Anakin shouted in frustration. A few veins on his neck popped out. "I activate Thunder Unicorn's effect again! This time targeting your stupid bird!"
The electricity shocked Egul, causing it to flop on the field, completely drained of strength.
Gusto Egul: 200 - 0
"Now, Thunder Unicorn! Back to attack mode!" Anakin continued, his words becoming more angered and more frantic. "I'm not giving you the satisfaction! Trampling Thunder!"
Again, the blue equine charged across the field. This time, rather than disappearing in a bolt of lightning, every hoofbeat roared of thunder and it reached Atsuko's monster and began trampling it. Again, the shockwaves from the attack shot towards Anakin, rather than Atsuko and the young man collapsed.
Atsuko - 6200
Anakin - (3200 - 0)
With the duel over, the dome slowly disappeared as it revealed the real night sky to everyone who was taking off their visors. The boys behind Atsuko all looked in shock by what just happened.
"He threw the match," Nick realized.
"I…but he was possessed," said Takashi. "No one else who got possessed did that, right?"
"They may have lashed out once it was clear they weren't going to win, but they didn't lose on purpose." Barclay frowned.
Atsuko's lip quivered a bit as she walked towards her unconscious opponent. "Are you OK?" she asked nervously. "Anakin, wake up. Can you hear me?"
Both Nick and Barclay walked forward as their hands began glowing once again, though unlike before, the darkness disappeared immediately.
"That's strange," Nick remarked as he kneeled and placed his hand on Anakin's forehead. "It's gone, almost like it was never there at all."
"Was it weaker to begin with?" Barclay mused. "Or was there some other factor we're unaware of?"
"What do you mean?" Takashi asked.
"Nothing concrete," Barclay replied. "Honestly, if I said anything, it'd be nothing more than blind conjecture at this point." "Will he be ok?" the petite girl asked.
"Let's hope so, for now though, best we get him and these other guys back to where they belong," Nick added. They all began to try and wake up the passed out students, unaware of the hiding figure not too far from them.
Another student saved from the darkness! But someone has seen something. Have the malevolent forces finally positively identified our heroes as the ones holding the powers they seek? Or is this mysterious figure a future ally? … You don't know. But you can find out! Maybe in the next chapter, maybe this'll pay off in a few chapters. Huzzah to the mystery nonetheless though, eh?
As always, thank you for reading and thanks to our Beta, Eneko95, for her continued support.
Translations:
Qué - "What?